HelloGiggles.com is a fun and quirky site co-created by famous actor and singer Zooey Deschanel and is liked on Facebook by over 211,000 people worldwide.
“HelloGiggles is a positive online community for women (although men are always
welcome!) Covering DIY and crafting projects, beauty, friendship, sex & relationships, pop culture, pets, television & movies, nostalgia, fandom, tips on savvy and stylish living meant to inspire a smile.” (HelloGiggles, 2013). HelloGiggles also features stories written by readersand is published daily.
C
O
L
OUR
:
The use of colour on HelloGiggles acts as a mood changer. Colours can affect our emotions, our actions and how we respond to various things, people and ideas (Crystal Cure, N.D.). A
prominent colour used is the colour beige. Beige can suggest unification, quiet and pleasantness. Beige can also symbolize calm and simplicity (Incredible @rt department,
N.D.). I think this is a great use of the colour as HelloGiggles seems to be going for a simplistic look while also trying to create an online community that unites women. Empower yourself with color psychology (2013), believes that a website aimed at women should chose softer pastel colours. This is also exactly what HelloGiggles has done, they have used colors that encourage readers to feel positive and have used no dark colours at all in their design, pastel colours are also believed to create a look of sophistication. They have also included
the color red, which is said to be a bold colour that is associated with sexuality and desire (Color wheel pro, 2006).
FONT:
The font used on the website is mainly Georgia serif, which is a stylish, quirky font, which is a pleasure to read on screen (A. Rawsthorn, 2006). To me, the font creates a clean looking page as they have chosen a font that is nicely spaced and not too thick. This makes it much
easier for the reader to read as it does not come across as a big slab of text.
The openness of the font creates an almost vibrant page that leaves the reader feeling calm. Often, if a font is bunched together without proper spacing, it can be daunting to a reader and scare them off from reading. This is not the case for HelloGiggles as they have gone with a serif font which is, as mentioned before, pleasing to the eyes. Serif is a font with extra little lines on letters; this is more decorative and can create an elegant look (M. Kushinka, 2012). So not only does Georgia serif give HelloGiggles a great style, it also has fantastic readability.
HEADLINING
AND
EXTERNAL
LINKS:
When you first click onto the magical webpage of HelloGiggles, you may notice at the top of the page some links to help you navigate around the page. These are called headlining links. The ones on HelloGiggles are written in the same font as used on the rest of the page. These are very helpful as they help you to pilot around the website in a clear and easy manner, this is very helpful for people who may be new to the internet or even just new to HelloGiggles
HelloGiggles also provides readers with external links to things that may be of interest to them. For example, if you click onto an article about a book the author has just read, then they may provide you with links to other links that are related to the book. HelloGiggles also has external links for other pages where you can get updates on the page, for example, they
have links to their Facebook, Twitter, etc.
This is very helpful for the reader as it gives them a quick way to find a way to contact HelloGiggles or to find a better way for them to keep up to date with latest posts.
SLIDESHOW:
One thing that really captures your eye as you click onto the page is the slideshow that plays on the centre of the page. This is very helpful to the reader as it displays articles on a range of different topics so you can see what has been trending lately or what the latest update on
the website is. It provides a more efficient and convenient way for the reader to navigate as you do not have to click onto multiple links before finding a story you actually want to read, instead they provide you with an image and a view of the introduction so you can decide
CONCLUSION:
HelloGiggles had set out to create an online community for females that was safe, fun, encouraging and a place that can give you a good giggle. From colour to font to headlining links and external links and use of slideshows, they have managed to capture the look and feel of an amazing fun and quirky website that is enjoyed by many women (and men) around
the world. They have created an easy to navigate and modern website that in my own opinion is easy for anyone from 6 and a half years old to 1000 years old to use. It is because of its detailed design that HelloGiggles has managed to accumulate many
REFERENCES:
Color wheel pro. (2006). Color meaning. Retrieved from: http://www.color-wheel-pro.com/color-meaning.html
Crystal Cure. (N.D.). Color symbolism, color and personality, gemstone color & meaning. Retrieved from:
http://crystal-cure.com/color-meanings.html
Empower yourself with color psychology. (2013).Retail business. Retrieved from: http://www.empower-yourself-with-color-psychology.com/retail-business.html Hello Giggles. (2013). Hello Giggles homepage. Retrieved from:
http://hellogiggles.com/
Incredible @rt department. (N.D.). Color symbolism and culture. Retrieved from: http://www.incredibleart.org/lessons/middle/color2.htm
Kushinka, M. (2012). Serif or sans serif?. Retrieved from:
http://www.redlinels.com/2012/08/17/does-font-matter/
Rawsthorn, A. (2006). Quirky serifs aside, Georgia fonts win on Web - Style - International Herald Tribune. Retrieved from:
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/07/09/style/09iht-dlede10.2150992.html?pagewant ed=all&_r=0
